Rhino Relief: Rinehart to Start For Redskins Against Detroit, and What It Means

I’ve been repeating it like a chorus since the offseason ended: The Redskins are very close to being a regularly competitive team. They have pretty decent talent and depth at most positions. The one glaring hole is depth in the O-line. With a starting squad that’s 80 percent injury-prone or old, the lack of depth is a big problem.

The first stumble occurred last weekend when right guard Randy Thomas injured himself for the rest of the season. The two choices to replace him were second-year prospect Chad Rinehart and hometown favorite Will Montgomery.

Rinehart, a third-round draft pick last season, ranks behind only Stephon Heyer as the most promising O-line prospect on the roster.

Montgomery is somewhat of a fan favorite because he played high school in Fairfax, Va., not far from the stadium, and because he went to Virginia Tech—which has a large fan base in and around Washington.

Still, Rinehart’s the better pick. He has a much higher ceiling and has played respectably—though not great—when he’s seen playing time in the past.

So what does all of this mean for the O-line? How can fans expect the unit to perform against the Lions this Sunday?

Fortunately for the Redskins, the Lions’ defensive line is battling nagging injuries. Starting defensive tackles Gradie Jackson and Sammy Hill are both listed as probable for Sunday’s game, and backup defensive end Cliff Avril is doubtful.

Despite these injuries, the Lions have produced at a pretty state. So far, they’ve tied for ninth in the NFC in sacks, which is where the unit finished in 2008. Though this number is above the median, it’s still not an incredible number: three sacks in two games.

I’d give the advantage to the Redskins in this situation. The Skins’ O-line still has enough gas in its tank to perform well. It’s not for another three or four games that you have to worry about the so-called “dirtbags” really succumbing to aches and pains like they did last year.

With Chris Samuels anchoring the unit at left tackle and the rest of the usual suspects ready to silence the doubters, expect the Redskins to hold the advantage against the Lions’ defensive line.

The trendy pick is to for the Lions to end their losing streak against the Redskins, who seemed incapable of finishing offensive drives last Sunday versus the floundering Rams.

Based on the battles in the trenches, the Redskins have a big advantage, so I think Washington will walk away with a victory.

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The Illusion of the Redskins’ O-Line

As I watched the Redskins-Giants game, I couldn’t help but be a bit pleased with the offensive line. Campbell had decent time. The running game wasn’t great, but the protection wasn’t particularly porous either. I had abysmal expectations and the results ranged from average to good.

But still something nagged at me: that any crispness will disappear by the midpoint of the season.

It happened last year, and it’ll happen again this year. The Redskins’ offensive line will play well and convince everyone the team is a contender. Then the veterans will start getting tired and hurt, and the team will quickly fall apart.

Take a look at all of the starting linemen, and none of them are bad players. They’re just old and injury prone. The team’s depth and youth at O-line was the biggest hole on the team last year – even worse than the defensive line – and went criminally untreated during the offseason. Compare the starters to their backups listed on the depth chart:

Left tackle: Chris Samuels, age 32

Easily the best and most stable lineman, even Samuels is starting to get old. He’s been playing for 10 years, and bodies can’t survive that long.

Backup: D’Anthony Batiste.

Left guard: Derrick Dockery, age 29

Dockery is a bit overrated and penalty-prone, but he’s at least the one lineman whom I trust surviving the whole season. He once started 29 games in a row.

Backup: Edwin Williams.

Center: Casey Rabach, age 31

He’s getting old and he’s injury prone. Otherwise, Rabach is a pretty solid starter. He’s at the top of the list on starters unlikely to survive the season unscathed.

Backup: Will Montgomery.

Right guard: Randy Thomas, age 33

Thomas is a former pro-bowler, but the oldest “Dirtbag” on the line. There’s no way he can be expected to survive an entire 16 games at full strength.

Backup: Chad Rinehart — the best backup on the O-line.

Right tackle: Stephon Heyer, age 25

The only starter remotely prospect-ish, and really one of a few on the entire Redskins roster with a promising long-term future, Heyer is playing better with each passing week. However, he’s an injury concern.

Backup: Mike Williams.

Aside from Rinehart, they’re incredibly weak in depth on the line and have too many fragile veterans starting. The Redskins will give the perception of being a fundamentally strong team for the first half of the season, and then collapse again.

Get some real depth and some true O-line prospects, Dan Snyder, and your team will turn from pretender to contender.

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Ladell Betts: Overrated Or Over-Hated?

Redskins pre-season talk has focused on Marcus Mason and Anthony Aldridge, both of whom fought an uphill battle trying to make the Redskins final roster; Mason, after three years, finally secured an unlikely spot despite concerns he’s too same-ish to the other tailbacks on the team.

Discussion has also centered around Clinton Portis because of concern that he’s on his last legs and because, well, he’s Clinton Portis. He’s the face of the franchise.

Finally, a few people have been wondering if Rock Cartwright is really worth a spot on the roster just for being in the top half of the NFL in return yards when he doesn’t do much on offense. He’s a role model and work ethic leader, so he was a lock to make the team.

But what about that other tailback on the roster, No. 2 tailback Ladell Betts?

He just turned thirty a few days ago, so now is as good a time as any to look back at Betts’ career, evaluate his performance, and perhaps decide what the team can do to improve his production.

The No. 1 criticism against Betts is that his production has trailed off considerably since 2006, when he rushed for 1,154 yards and signed a juicy 5-year contract. It seems as if he’s coasting, collecting pay stubs while Portis takes the vast majority of rushing attempts and hits from locomotive linebackers.

Certainly, 2006 was by far his best year. He averaged an excellent 4.7 yards/carry, a number that obliterates the merely-average 3.6 and 3.4 in seasons since then. In fact, his performance in 2006 had most people labelling him a starter-quality back. He certainly could have found a job as the number one and made slightly more money.

While that raises warning flags, it’s far from proof he’s a coaster. It’s not just his unexpected re-sign in Washington in 2006 but his less dynamic performance since then that have critics condemning him for playing for the paycheck and not the Lombardi Trophy.

In the two seasons since then, Betts has rushed for 541 yards, less than half the production than he had in 2006 alone. After four trips to the end zone in ’06, he’s had just one per year since then.

People read too much into just these numbers, though. Although this doesn’t quite explain his Herculean 4.7 yards/carry, a number nearly as good as Adrian Peterson had in 2008, I think that Betts benefited from one of the Redskins best offensive lines of the past decade.

It’s strange to think the Redskins could have had a loaded line in ’06. After all, the team tied worst record of the Daniel Snyder era with a pathetic 5-11 final mark. The offense was strangely productive, though. The team ranked in the top half of the league in yards per game, especially impressive when you consider that Jason Campbell played seven games as an unpolished rookie.

I give a lot of credit to that line, which not only gave Betts and Portis (4.1 yards/attempt) room to run, but gave Campbell and Brunell loads of time in the pocket. Campbell’s 3.3 sack percentage and Brunell’s 4.4 sack percentage were by far the lowest numbers of their careers. When Campbell played, the line allowed only seven sacks in seven games.

So, Betts’ numbers were inflated by a very good O-line in 2006 and have fallen with a line that has shown signs of age since. In that way, Betts’ prospects don’t look especially promising in 2009. He’ll be looking for blocks from a line that’s crumbling from age and lack of prospects.

But to be fair to Betts, he hasn’t been asked to step up to a starter role since 2006 when Portis battled injuries. When Portis is out there, fighting off any sort of aches and bruises and delivering punishing blocks, the Redskins don’t particularly need Betts to do much besides convert the occasional first down.

I think it’s fair to say that Betts ought to be playing better than he has been the past two years. Whether it’s just a stroke of bad luck and bad blocks, an inability to develop rhythm, or perhaps even the sense of entitlement fans accuse him of having, he’s not earning his contract just yet. But fans shouldn’t expect him to return to his tremendous efficiency of 2006 until the front office and coaching builds an offensive line that will allow him to do so.

Every part of a football game can be better understood by looking at the battle in the trenches, and the performance of Ladell Betts is no different.

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A Two-Step Plan for the Redskins to Turn the Franchise Around in 2010

I really believe that if the Redskins tune their roster a little bit and then let everything play out for a few years, the franchise will shift from mediocre-sometimes-good to good-sometimes-great.

They have a great core of young-ish talent at almost every position… almost. Which brings me to my two-step plan on how to use the 2010 draft to steer the team to greatness.

1. Keep all of their five remaining draft picks, or trade down to get even more

2. Draft at least one player in every offensive line position (LT, RT, LG, RG, C)

I look at nearly every position on the roster, and I see a glut of high-potential young players. I don’t see enough of it at the most important part of the roster, though, the O-line.

You’ve got the aging veterans, like Randy Thomas and Chris Samuels. You’ve got the workhorses at the end of their prime, like Casey Rabach and Derrick Dockery. You’ve got one real-deal prospect, Stephon Heyer.

You’ve got a couple of players who have been drafted in the past year or two, but are considered mid-level prospects, like this year’s fifth-round pick Cody Glenn.

And that’s it. After that there are a bunch of low-level prospects, busts, and “projects.”

It’s not enough to build a team around. Five high-level and mid-level prospects later, though, the story’s a lot different. Then you have a unit with potential to get a lot better fast, especially under an experienced offensive line coach like Joe Bugel.

Those linemen entering their twilight years as NFL players can show the whippersnappers how it’s done, then leave the franchise in good hands.

And an improved offensive line has an impact on the entire time. It gives the quarterback and runners space. An improved offense puts less pressure on the defense and allows it to develop and operate properly, without quite as much pressure.

Seriously, Dan Snyder, it will work. Draft five offensive lineman. Then, if you can control your itchy trigger finger and keep the players on the team and happy, you’ll start winning all sorts of games within a couple of years.

Here are a few potential objections and how I’d respond to them.

• But the 2010 class looks like it might be a weak one for linemen! I’ve heard this argued, but I see no evidence for it. Look at the prospect rankings for the 2010 draft and compare it to the spots that linemen were taken in recent drafts, and they’re not all that different. In fact, 2010 might even be slightly above average.
• But the Redskins have other needs! None that are as pressing, though. With contracts ending, you never know when a hole will open up, but you can fill those with free agency. Plus, the O-line is the most important position in the game. You need a long-term plan there more than anywhere. Not patchwork
• But they need experience at the line, not more prospects, because the veterans have had a lot injuries, and the O-line depth lacks experience! This is a valid point, but with Joe Bugel and other experienced linemen on the roster, players can learn fast.
• But seriously, five linemen? It seems like a lot, but every part of the offensive line needs more talented depth, especially considering how injury-prone the Dirtbags seem to be.

Make it happen, Snyder and Cerrato.

Notre Dame and Rock and Roll: 7 Lessons from Rock Bands

When you take time to think about it, it’s funny how much a sporting event resembles a rock show. There’s lots of noise, an incredible amount of fuss and hype. Fans have favorite performers. There’s drama, ebb and flow, showmanship, and emotion poured out in front of thousands. All in a giant concrete arena.

It goes without saying that some music groups and sports teams are more important and popular than others. One of the most popular teams in the history of sports media is the University of Notre Dame’s football team. And, in some ways, the Fighting Irish’s story is as dramatic and flashy as some great rock and roll bands’ are: there are burnouts and comebacks, high points and low points, plus a certain pride and mythos.

I think there is something to be learned from these parallels. In this article, I will take a look at seven lessons Notre Dame and its fans could learn from different rock and roll bands.

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